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Let Freedom Ring

This year, we’ll wave flags in Wilmington and Waynesville, fire up the grill in Fayetteville and Fuquay-Varina. Most of all, we’ll reflect on the earliest days of our country and the true meaning of Independence Day.

Having a Blast

There’s only one way to finish off a day of Fourth of July festivities: with crackles and booms, color and light. Sit back, hold your family close, and watch the show unfold.

Paradise at 4,500 Feet

High on Toxaway Mountain, one of the state’s best-kept secrets unfolds like a fairytale. Southern Highlands Reserve is a native plant arboretum, a research center, a living laboratory. Most of all, it’s a place of unparalleled beauty.

Rock ’n’ Roll Quarry

Before the turquoise water rose, submerging the towering walls of an old granite quarry near Ramseur, the secret swimming hole served as a lesson and a warning to a generation of kids growing up in the 1970s.

Fowl Play

Each summer, families flock to an old-fashioned swimming hole on the South Yadkin River to watch a thousand tiny toy ducks hurtle through the rushes at Cooleemee Falls.

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